The shortest history of music From bone flutes to synthesizers, Hildegard of Bingen to Beyoncé - 5,000 years of instrument and song

In this entertaining contribution to the Shortest History series, Australian composer and radio announcer Ford eschews a chronological organization in favor of a thematic one, exploring the categories of musical tradition, notation, monetization, experimentation, and recording. Ford's voice is erudite and engaging as he sweeps through the centuries, covering Rumi, William Blake, and the Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight," for example, in his discussion of the ways in which poetry has informed music. Periodic detours into music theory are technical but approachable and always germane to the topic at hand. Supporting the history and theory is a compelling ethos, at odds with cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker's suggestion that music, because it isn't a language, is inessential, an "exquisite confection." Hardly, argues Ford. "From ancient times," he writes, "music was part of life at every level." With evidence from the Bronze Age drums of southern China, the calypso of Trinidad, and the transformative sound of Billie Holiday's voice, Ford makes a compelling and informative case for the power and necessity of music.

Gr 9 Up--The promise of this series is to condense the growth of France from Roman Gaul to the current day, the history of migration from the movements of prehistoric peoples to modern migrants, or the development of music from early bone flutes to synthesizers into books that could be read in a day. This is dense material due to its subject matter and the way it has been distilled. The migration and France titles both have time lines and all the books have images (diagrams, maps, artwork, photos) to support the text. That text is written by content specialists who draw parallels with current events as well as explaining what has gone before. In Migration, a preface from the author explains his personal connection to the topic. VERDICT A useful reference set, or a possible classroom purchase for Honors courses.